The Tail of a Healer
by bunbun454
Summary: Ginger, a decedent of many medicine cats, goes on a journey to find her kin with a killer. She has also been told a mysterious prophecy, "Seek spotted pelts and you will find a treasure felt." What the heck does that mean? A twin fic with killer.
1. Kin and Moss

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fern or any of the other Warriors characters!**

Prologue

I was lying down, thinking about my kin. I was desperate to find out who they were, but the most desperate thing I was hoping for was for them to still be alive. My stomach rumbled, intruding my thoughts. I noticed how hungry I was and sat up. I jumped out of the hollow that was my home, and stretched. All of a sudden, I saw a blur of grey fur flash before me.

_'A cat!'_ My thoughts screamed. I started to chase the blur. I couldn't believe it was a cat! I hadn't seen one in weeks, but in the back of my head I was hoping, wishing, that it was one of my kin.

**Chapter 1**

The sunlight dashed across my tortoiseshell fur as I pursued the cat. I was finally a mouse length away from the grey tomcat. I leaped, and landed right square in the middle of his shoulders. _'Perfect!'_ I thought. He fell to the ground. I tried to see his face but before I could flip him over on his back, quick as a fish he squirmed out of my grip. He got to his paws and faced me. Disappointment surged through my body. It was only the gray tabby tomcat loner, Fern. I felt my fur lie flat.

"What, were you trying to eat me, mouse- brain?" Fern hissed.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "I thought you were someone else."

Fern spat back saying, "Were you going to eat him?"

I couldn't take anymore of his teasing. I walked away from his taunting gaze. Disappointment still seared my fur as I walked, not knowing where I was going. My head wouldn't stay up while I walked, looking down at the forest floor.

Bam!

Something hard, very hard hit me right in the forehead. I walked around in a couple of dizzy circles, and then collapsed. I thought about my kin and what I was going to do with my life. For a moment, it felt like another thought was prodding my own. Then blackness took over.

* * *

***Third Person***

Sunlight shone through the trees and dappled her tortoiseshell pelt. Ginger could tell it was sunhigh. The scent of poppy seeds filled her nose. She sat up and saw a few poppy seeds. Ginger's head still felt a bit dizzy so she lapped the seeds up. She didn't need to guess who gave her them. It was obviously Fern. He was definitely a grump but could be an angel at times. Ginger loved the way he silently cared for the forest and the cats. Then she felt the sudden despair of having no kin of her own. Ginger would never know who they are or where they are. The only cat she felt close with was Fern and Sparrow. Sparrow was so annoying she couldn't stand to have him as a close friend, nonetheless a mate. She felt bad for him at times, but that feeling soon went away after she started to talk with him. Fern on the other hand, was a bit too grumpy and was as hostile as Bloodclan.

Ginger would try to talk to the other loners, but none of them were friendly enough to talk with. Her stomach grumbled, interrupting once again, her thoughts. She needed to find some food. She started to walk to the big oak tree she had run into. Sure enough, among the roots of the tree was a mouse nibbling away at a nut. Ginger went into a hunter crouch, and with one swift swipe of her paw; the mouse was fresh-kill. She pricked her ears and heard a scuffling noise.

'_Another mouse! Yes_!' She thought. Ginger killed the other mouse quickly. Then with fresh-kill in jaws, the tortoiseshell started to walk to her nest.

She passed Fern, but was still too mad at him to talk to the gray tom. Ginger slowed down her pace trying to make him talk to her, but he didn't even notice her. She sighed and picked up her pace.

Ginger wanted a cat to be with her every single day and night. To care, to love, and to lean on. Oh so badly she wanted it. To not be lonely would be so wonderful. She found the big sycamore tree and climbed into the hollow in the tree, she so called her nest.

When she lied down she smelled the stale moss she had laid down for her nest a moon ago. It reminded her that she needed to change it. She devoured her mice quickly and headed out to find some moss. Ginger traveled hard and long looking for just the moss. While she was padding through the Great forest, she thought about her kin once again.

_'What did they look like?'_ She thought, '_how would she know it was them if she did find them__?_' Ginger pondered these questions over and over and over again. It felt like she had been walking for only ten minutes. When really Ginger had been searching for four hours. It was almost moon-high and she was getting tired. The next thing she saw was one of the most disturbing things seen in her life. Fern skipping merrily along with a patch of fresh moss in his mouth. She couldn't believe her eyes. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She couldn't believe that someone so grumpy could skip so merrily.

"Hey," Ginger called out, "What piece of crow- food made you so mouse-brained?"

Fern replied with a love struck face. "I just met the most beautiful cat in the world."

"Who, Sparrow?" She retorted with a look of disgust on her face. Fern didn't reply. He just went on with merrily skipping.

"Just let him be." Ginger told herself, shaking her head. She sighed and then started her search again.

_'I just need some fresh moss. Where did Fern get such fresh green moss? I mean he is so blind to things so great, how could he have found such wonderful moss?'_ Ginger laughed to herself, and then started to walk over to where Fern came from.

Ginger found his scent and followed his trail till it lead between two big stone walls. She pricked her ears. She heard a waterfall and rushing water. Ginger padded between the two stone walls. There lay a small pool that was fed by a trickling waterfall. As she padded down to the pool, her paws slipped into the many ancient paw prints form other cats. Ginger could feel the power in this area.

The pool reflected the moon and was a pure white color. The foreign scent of many different types of cats dominated the air. Ginger heard soft whispering all around her. Her pelt brushed against those of other cats. At firstGinger felt scared and frightened, as though something was preying on her. Then she felt calm and welcome, like this was her home. Ginger all of a sudden felt very thirsty and felt the urge to take a gulp from the sacred pool.

All the soft whispers seemed to tempt her to just take a simple sip form the pool. Ginger decided to just take one lick. She bent over and took one cool, refreshing lap from it. The lick that Ginger took rushed all through her body, making her sleepy. Ginger decided to lie down just for a moment, but before she knew it, she was in a deep sleep.


	2. The Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fern or any of the other Warriors characters!**

Ginger opened her eyes to a forest like no other. It must have been greenleaf because every single plant and flower was sprouting out of the ground. There were so many vibrant colors. Then she scented another cat. It was a very familiar sweet scent. A beautiful, dark tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes appeared. She was blessed with white paws, a black- tipped tail, and a distinctive dappled coat. Her gentle scent of herbs filled her nose.

"Hello, young one." The she-cat meowed. Her voice was soft, as a queen would speak to her kits.

"Why are you so familiar to me?" Ginger asked softly. She felt as if she spoke too loud the beautiful she-cat would go away.

"That is not what I came here to tell you." She meowed. The she-cat's voice became loud and firm. Ginger straightened up because whatever the she-cat was about to say was going to be very important and she better listen up.

_"Seek the spotted pelts and you will find treasure felt"_

"What does that mean and why are you so familiar?" Ginger meowed more loudly then she meant.

The she-cat was slowly fading and she meowed very softly, "You will have to figure that out yourself."

"No, don't leave!" Ginger shouted, but it was too late. All the bright colors were blurring together, filling her mind. Ginger blinked once and she was lying on the cold stone floor by the pool.

The strange prophecy would not stop echoing in her head. When she padded out of the Wonders of the Moon, as she so called it, the sun seared her fur. Ginger had slept till sunhigh and she was starving She quickly caught two mice, a vole, and a sparrow. The tortoiseshell ate them quickly and started to run back to her nest so she could take a nice long nap. As she ran, she thought about who the beautiful she-cat was and why was she so familiar to her. Was she alive or dead? Why was she in her dream? What was that wonderful moon place? Ginger was very close to her nest now. She was running her fastest. Out of the corner if her eye she saw that she had passed by a sleepy Fern. She had to tell him about the moon pool. Ginger skidded to a halt to tell him about the wondrous place. Her body quivered with the excitment.

But before Ginger could say anything, Fern spat, "Leave me alone, I don't want to hear any of your fox dung."

Ginger wasn't very applaud by his grumpiness. Though he was looking very grumpy today. She decided to ignore what he said. "Have you ever been to the wondrous, most beautiful, ever powering, moo-," she began but before she could say anymore, Fern cut her off with,

"Stop! Stop talking to me! I have always hated when you talk to me about all the stupid little things you do I your mouse-brained life! I don't care about your life! I don't care about**you**! So just leave me alone before I rip you to shreds!" Fern stood growling, fur on end. Ginger took a step back, regretting even trying to tell him.

Ginger was getting scared, but she didn't want to show it. So she showed anger instead. "Hey, if you really want to be a grumpy old loner who is without friends then fine! I was considering leaving to find my kin, but I guess you have set my mind straight! I will leave this forest so you can have it all to yourself! You greedy fox dung!" Ginger spat.

Fern growled and leaped at her, claws unsheathed, anger in his eyes. Before Ginger knew it, pain was searing her stomach as Fern raked his claws on it. Ginger's claws unsheathed. She swiped one claw at his face, but her strike did not mark his face. Ginger backed away, not wanting to do harm to Fern. Before she left she hissed, "Your so vicious you could join Bloodclan and be a pretty good warrior for them!" She turned and ran into the forest not knowing where she was going.

She heard a faint call, "Ginger, wait!" from Fern, but she ignored it. She could feel lots of blood running out of the gash in her stomach. Ginger was losing a lot of blood, too much blood! Her head started to spin and she felt light headed. Then darkness hit her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ginger awoke to her nest with fresh moss in it. '_Hmmmm,'_ she thought, '_I don't remember getting fresh moss.' _A fresh caught mouse filled her nose. She looked down to see a dead mouse. '_I don't remember catching that either.' _She pondered. Well, she was very hungry so she devoured the mouse in a couple of hungry bites. Then the injured cat stepped out of her nest to find, to her surprise, Fern. He was enjoying a freshly caught sparrow. It seemed like he was enjoying the afternoon sun as well.

"You shouldn't move around much with that gash on your stomach." Fern meowed casually.

"Wow your quite the healer," she meowed sarcastically. Ginger padded up to him and pressed her muzzle against his cheek. Fern nudged her away, obviously too embarrassed to have her thank him.

" Well if your leaving the forest your going to need protection. You can't just go out there all alone. You could get killed." Fern said with a hint of caring for her in his eyes. Then they flashed back to their normal hardness.

"We will leave tomorrow at dawn. I think I have a pretty good idea of where we are going." Ginger meowed confidently. "How about we meet at the big oak tree that I ran into?" Fern gave a slight nod and then padded through the tress. Excitement surged through her body as Ginger though of the journey ahead. She just might be able to find her kin.

_"Seek spotted pelts and you will find treasure felt,_" The voice of the she-cat was echoing in her head once again.

_'What did that mean? What was the familiar she-cat trying to tell her? Why did it have to be in a poem? Why couldn't the she-cat just tell her?! It's not very hard!' _Ginger was getting frustrated with this cat. Then she thought back to the night at the Wonders of the Moon. '_It was so beautiful! I wonder if any other cat had been there before? Of course there has!' _Her thoughts screamed at her. '_Where do you think all those paw prints came from? Why am I such an idiot! There were so many cat scents there that it concluded that there are probably many cats that live near there! I remember many scents of cats but they all had one sent together. A herb like scent that reminded her of the she-cat. That must mean that those cats live together!' That was exactly what she was looking for!'_

Ginger looked up at the sky to see the sun shining brightly_. _It was a little after sunhigh and she had tons of energy. '_I know! I will see if Fern wants to play with me!' _Ginger thought. She raced through the forest in the direction of Fern's cave. The wind tugged at her fur as she ran, dodging the tress. She leapt over a fallen log and emerged out of the forest into the clearing where Fern's cave was. She slowed her pace and picked her way through the weeds. She came among a gray heap outside of Fern's cave. The gentle rise and fall of his breathing told Ginger that he was in a deep sleep.

"That lazy piece of crowfood, She muttered under her breath, I will let him have a good sleep before we travel." She usually would have taken no time to prod him awake but she didn't want him to be very grumpy tomorrow. She decided to go see if Sparrow wanted to play around. He was a very lean, fast brown tabby tomcat. As she started padding through the forest, she thought about Sparrow. Everyone thought Sparrow was a very strange cat. He either slept out in the open under the stars, high up in a tree or on an open field, or in a tiny rabbit hole. She then wondered about Sparrow's kin, some cats said he had no idea who he even was, but onne she asked him and he said he was a descendent of something called Windcla n.

Ginger finally reached Sparrow's hole. "Sparrow! Its Ginger. Sparrow?" her voice echoed around the hole. No one was in there. She wondered why the hole sounded so gigantic inside when it was only a tiny rabbit hole. Ginger thought this as she looked up at the trees surrounding her calling, "Sparrow! Sparrow? Sparrow, you up there?!" She took one paw step backwards and found that the ground was no longer there. She yelped in surprise and then fell into the large darkness that she thought was Sparrow's tiny hole.


	3. A Little Hole

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fern or any of the other Warriors characters!**

Chapter 3

It was picth black as Ginger breathed in the earthy scent of the dirt. She was slipping farther and farther into the hole. The tunnel seemed to go on forever until. That was, until she fell out into an underground cave. It was larger than the size of her hollow! The tortoiseshell never thought a rabbit could be so big. Ginger saw a nest that smelled strongly of Sparrow, but the scent was stale. There were claw marks on the dirt walls where he probably was trying to sharpen his claws. In the opposite direction of the tunnel Ginger had entered, she saw another tunnel leading up.

_'That must be the exit.'_ Ginger thought excitedly. She charged to the other side where the exit tunnel was. She pushed herself up the tunnel. Ginger kept crawling up in the pitch-black darkness. Ginger gave one big push and her face smashed into solid earth. "Ouch." the earth muffled her meow.

"It's a dead end, fox dung." She muttered under her breath. Ginger tried to turn around, but the tunnel was too small. She tried to push backwards with her front paws, but she was stuck. Panic rushed throughout her body. She tried again to push with all her might, but she didn't budge.

Why was she so mouse-brained? A muffled meow told her that there was a visitor. Relief ran through Ginger's body.

She took a huge gasp of air and yelped, "Help! Help! Help! " Ginger hoped whoever it was heard her plea.

Then she heard Fern's muffled meow, "Ginger? Are you down there?"

"Yes, I am down here. Now come help me, you stupid fur-ball! " Ginger yelled, frustration rising in her.

"Okay... but why are you-" Fern's meowed sounding uncertain.

Ginger cut him off yelling, "Just come help me!" She heard a surprised yelp from Fern echo around the cave. Then a thud and dirt scattering everywhere. Then Fern's wheezing and coughing. His scent filled her nose and then Ginger felt his teeth meet her hind legs. She gave a surprised yelp as Fern tugged five times on her hind legs. Then he felt like he had given up. She heard a big raspy breath and felt him pulling again.

He stopped abruptly and Ginger heard scratching around her and she felt the earth loosen around her legs. Fern then gave one bug tug at one of her hind legs. Ginger gave out a yelp of pain and surprise as she flew out Ginger landed with a thud in the middle of the underground cave. She shook her head trying to get her vision straight. When Ginger opened her eyes she saw a blurred picture of Fern and then she saw him clearly. He had a worried and surprised look in his eyes, but then flashed back to hardness once Fern noticed that Ginger could see clearly.

Fern looked down at his paws as he meowed, "Umm… are you ok? I mean, it's pretty mouse-brained to try to be a mole and dig tunnels." A glint of teasing flashed in his eyes as he meowed it.

Ginger padded up to Fern and put her muzzle to his check and murmured, "Thank you."

Fern ignored her movement of love for him by backing away from her and padding over to the tunnel while meowing, "Your welcome." Fern leaped up into the tunnel and vanished.

Despair surged through her body as Ginger noticed how much Fern disliked her. Ginger loved him secretly and would show no one unless Fern loved her back. Her paws itched to go run and tell him but she only padded slowly to the tunnel and squirmed out it quickly, afraid that she would get stuck again. Ginger emerged from the dark tunnel, blinking in the bright afternoon light.

Fern was waiting patiently for her looking deep in thought. "So, what did you want?" He meowed.

"Ohhhh... I just wanted to see if you wanted to play a game with me?" She asked pleadingly.

"We should probably get some rest before the journey." Fern meowed.

"But I'm-" She was cut off by Fern padding away into the shadows. Ginger let out a big sigh. she better get some rest since she had nothing else to do. She caught a thrush and started to pad back to her den. It started to drizzle rain and she ran back to her nest.

She jumped up into her hollow and curled up in the warm moss. She looked out and saw the drizzle of rain turn into the rain pouring down. She felt lucky to have a sheltered den. She munched on her thrush while watching the rain bounce off the forest floor. She scented Fern and saw him emerge from the forest. His head was down and his tail was trailing behind him. Fern slumped through the clearing looking like he didn't mind the rain at all. He looked miserable and wet.

"Fer-" Ginger stopped in mid word not wanting to bother Fern, surprisingly, or break the silence. Fern had not heard her or was just ignoring her because he kept his head and tail down and kept slowly padding through the clearing. She finished off her thrush with one last swipe of her tongue and watched Fern disappear into the forest. Ginger curled more tightly and closed her eyes.

She was so excited for the journey! She couldn't wait till tomorrow! A burst of energy ran through her body as she thought about it. She needed to stop thinking about the journey or else she would never get some rest. She calmed herself and focused her thoughts on the pitter- patter of the rain.

Before she knew it, sleep had swallowed her.


	4. A Nice Speech

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: Blah_I_****blahblah_don't_****blahblah**_own_**blahblah_warriors_****blahblah**

Ginger woke to the morning sunlight brightening her hollow in the tree. The sun felt good on her tortoiseshell pelt. She leaped down and stretched her aching muscles in the clearing. Her stomach rumbled telling her that she needed food. She lifted her head trying to pick up a scent. The scent of a mouse filled her nose. She saw movement by a thorn bush. She got into a hunting crouch and silently stalked over to the thorn bush. She then saw a mouse scuttling around for nuts unaware of Ginger. Ginger pounced and killed the mouse quickly with one swift bite. She was so hungry she ate the mouse where she killed it. The mouse was very plump and filling so Ginger lay in the sunny clearing with her belly full. She was sprawled on the ground getting some sun. She felt like she was forgetting something but she didn't know what. She closed her eyes trying to think of what it was.

_'__Hmmmmm ... I can remember it had something to do with Fern, I think but what?'_ She felt sleepy lying in the sun. _'Sleep will probably help me remember what I forgot about Fern. Maybe it was just that thrush I ate last night.'_ She started to pad over to the big sycamore tree with the hollow in it.

Before she leaped up into it she heard a familiar voice meow, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Ginger turned to see a cat from heaven, at least that's what it looked like. The late morning sunlight shone on this beautiful gray tabby tomcat like a spotlight. It mad his baby blue eyes sparkle like the bright shiny lights in the sky at night. There was a look of love in his eyes. Then the sun was covered up with a cloud and the cat in front of her was just plain, old Fern.

All of a sudden it hit her like when she ran into the big oak tree. The journey to find her kin. So that was what she was forgetting all along! How could she have been so mouse-brained The thing that would change her life forever. Embarrassment pricked her pelt. From an angel back to Fern, he looked a lot different.

His eyes were hard and frustration flashed from his pelt. Fern's meow jerked her back from her thoughts.

"Why weren't you at the big oak?" Anger was rising in his voice, "I have been waiting all morning since dawn for you! All you have been doing is being lazy and sleeping in the sun. Was this a joke? Because I don't find it very funny! I was just trying to help, but now no one appreciates what I do anymore! Maybe you think this was funny, but I don't, and if you think that I am always going to take that then you're wrong! If that's what you think, I better just leave you to go on the journey by yourself " Fern's eyes were blazing now with anger.

Guilt swept over Ginger. She had completely forgotten about meeting Fern "I'm so sorry I am so mouse-brained that I forgot about the thing that was supposed to change my life I forgot about the journey And I forgot about you The meeting by the big oak tree How long did you wait? Oh of course you waited since dawn just for me. You were being so kind by going on the journey with me. Oh I am so sorry, can you ever forgive me?" Doubt flickered through Ginger's mind as she meowed this. She felt that she needed to say so much more. So she started to say more.

"Oh I am so sorry. Are you hurt? Do you need some herbs? What did you do while you were waiting all the time? I was just-"

She got cut off by Fern meowing, "Are you going to continue blabbering on or are we going to leave? Oh and nice speech by the way. Did Sparrow help you with it?"

Relief ran through Ginger as she heard his meowing. She took one step forward to twine tails with his but then she thought about how Fern always pushed her away when she tried to show affection. She felt sadness leak through her body. Maybe, just maybe Fern might lover her back. Very, very, very, very, very, very deep inside Fern, way down there, he had a loving heart.

Something hit her hard in the head with brought her back from her thoughts. " Hello? Anyone in there?" Fern's meowing told her that is was he who hit Ginger on the head. Her head spun for a while then her vision cleared.

"Oops, sorry. I was just thinking," Ginger meowed quickly, "So do you want to leave now?"

"Well I have nothing else to do in my life, so sure. Let's go." Fern meowed. It seemed like he was very excited, but then his eyes were hard again. Ginger felt like she needed time at her hollow but she would just mope around until the time came to leave.

Ginger tried to sound happy by meowing, "I'll race you to the edge of the forest?"

"We will see who is fastest now." Fern meowed and a heartbeat after he meowed that, he had vanished. Ginger raced after him into the forest.

* * *

It was an hour of running through the forest until Ginger caught up with Fern at the edge of the forest. He wasn't even breathing hard! Ginger knew Fern had beat her fair and square, but she would never admit it. The sun was about to set and Ginger was exhausted from the long run.

"Hey, I know I good place where we can rest for the night. It has wonderful fresh moss by it so we can easily make two nests. You catch food and I will make nests, sound good?"

"Sure, be back in a bit." Fern meowed over his shoulder as he padded back into the forest. Ginger bristly turned around to find the moss. She padded over to the two stone walls and found fresh green moss growing around it. Ginger breathed in the earthy scent deeply, and sighed. She loved the scent of fresh, green moss. The scent filled her head, clouding her thoughts and making her sleepy. Ginger quickly shook her head, clearing it of the scent and went straight to taking the moss of the stone wall with her teeth and claws.

Soon the tortoiseshell had two huge wads of moss. Ginger knew exactly where they were going to sleep. She rolled the two wads of moss down by the Wonders of the Moon. Her job was finished. She left the pool and came back out into the open. Ginger sat down by the edge of the forest and began to wash herself. She licked one paw and brought it up to her face. She licked her legs and tail and then went to her back. After Ginger was finished, she laid down, waiting for Fern. She listened to the trickling of the water and soon fell asleep.

Ginger woke with a start when She felt someone prodding her awake. It felt like she had only fallen asleep for a second. She opened her eyes to a vole and a mouse lying at her paws. She turned to see Fern taking ravenous bites from a squirrel. She then smelled the delicious smell of mouse and vole. Her stomach rumbled telling her that she was hungry. She gulped down the vole quickly and then munched thoughtfully on her mouse. Ginger was thinking about what her kin were going to look like.

_"Seek spotted pelts and you will find treasure felt." _The voice startled her for a moment, making her turn her head from side to side trying to see where the voice came from. Then she realized that Fern had not heard it and that the voice was inside her head. An image appeared in her head of the beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat that had visited her in her dream.

What was so important that the voice had top keep reminding her? Ginger thought. What did it mean? Ginger's head was buzzing with questions. She felt exhaustion gnawing at her legs. She slowly got up and headed toward the two stone walls. A flick of her tail told Fern to follow. Fern took one more big bite from his squirrel then followed. Ginger led him down to the pool and then she collapsed in one of the wads of moss. She murmured a "Good night" to Fern before falling into a deep sleep.


	5. Fish

**Chapter 5**

A tortoiseshell cat woke to the sound of a cat lapping up some water. Ginger opened her eyes to see Fern drinking thirstily at the wonders of the moon pool. The gray cat just kept on lapping and lapping from the pool as though he had not drank anything for moons. He kept drinking until he collapsed, sound asleep. Ginger wondered why Fern fell asleep so fast, and then she remembered how when she drank from the pool, it had made her very sleepy. She had only taken one lap from it and had fallen asleep in seconds. Now Fern had drunk nearly half of the pool, so he was probably going to sleep for at least a moon. Ginger got to her paws and stretched her aching, stiff legs. Her legs hurt terribly from sleeping on the cold stone. Ginger was used to sleeping in a tree hollow, not a cave. She did have nice comfy moss, but while she was sleeping, she had rolled off it.

"So much for the moss." Ginger muttered.

She padded out of the two stone walls. It was dawn and her stomach was rumbling, so she headed back into the forest to catch some prey. Ginger could tell that the forest was unused to a cat hunting there, because tho mice and a vole had practically ran into her paws and a thrush was just pecking at the ground, not noticing the black and ginger cat lurking in the shadows until she was one paw step away from it. With her mouth full of prey, she headed back to the wonders of the moon. Once Ginger arrived, she decided that she would take the thrush and mouse for herself. She picked up the vole and other mouse and padded down to the pool. She came to a halt beside Fern and began to poke him. He just grunted and turned his back to her. Ginger's eyes glanced at his filthy pelt. She started to lick between his ears in a motherly way. She hesitated for a moment when she tasted blood._'How did he get scratched? Oh well, a good lick will heal it.' _And continued washing him. When she was finished, Ginger started to poke again. But Fern never awakened. Ginger's eyes fixed on the pool and an idea popped into her head. She padded over to the pool, took one paw, dipped it in the pool, and splashed the water at Fern. Ginger did it once more to make sure that he was fully awake. Fern jumped to his paws, bewildered. He was looking from side to side, shivering as the cold water soaked through his fur. Ginger smiled in satisfaction then meowed,

"Here, its breakfast."

pushing forward the mouse and vole. Ginger then, padded out to where she had left her thrush and mouse. Ginger ate both hungrily and then waited for Fern to come out of the Wonders of the moon. By the time Fern appeared, the sun was begging to rise.

"Okay, lets get the show on the road. Whatever that means..." Ginger meowed as she got to her paws.

Energy raced through her body and she had never felt so alive. Fern just grunted in response. Ginger gave one long look at the forest she was about to leave behind. She already felt homesick.

"Oh great." Ginger muttered sarcastically.

She pushed the homesickness feeling away and padded along a stream that was fed by the moon pool. Fern an Ginger followed the stream away from the wonders of the moon pool. The stream seemed to stretch on and on until it vanished behind a hill. The sun was rising slowly and with each pawstep the forest was looking smaller and smaller. Instead of looking behind at the home ginger was leaving, she looked forward and saw many hills in the distance. Along with the many hills, there was a moor. There was a fresh water-like breeze coming from in front of the moor and hills. Ginger couldn't see what it was because there was one big hill blocking her view. Ginger couldn't help but pick up her pace so she could sooner see what was behind the hill. Ginger and Fern followed the stream in silence until it was sun high.

"Lets rest for a minute Fern." Ginger meowed while going over to the stream and bent down to get a refreshing drink. The water gave Ginger more energy and she sat up to look at her reflection. Ginger sat there for a second or two just calmly watching the water go by. All of a sudden, a silver blur swam by with the current. Before she knew it, the "thing" was gone. Ginger gave out a yelp of surprise and doubled back from the stream, crashing into Fern.

Fern gave out a hiss of annoyance and meowed angrily, "What's the matter with you? Did you get scared of that hideous cat in the water?"

Ginger didn't find it funny at all and just ignored him by meowing,

"Quick! Come! Look down at the water".

Ginger quickly looked intently at the water while Fern had a bored look on his face. Then Ginger found what she was looking for. But this time there were three of the silver blurs. Ginger's belly rumbled at the sight of the silver blurs and Fern and Ginger exchanged a quick glance. They both then went charging after the silver blurs, intent on their prey. Ginger took her paw and scooped it out onto dry land. The silver water creature flopped and turned and twisted on the ground, but Ginger hurried over to kill with one swift bite.

Ginger picked it up and padded over to Fern who had obviously gotten his whole face soaked in his attempt to kill the water creature. Fern had successfully gotten it though Fern looked happy anyway and he started to gobble it down hungrily. Ginger bit into hers and found that it was the most delicious thing in the world. She devoured it in a couple of bites but she wanted more. Ginger turned around to see that Fern had enjoyed the silver creature too and had caught another one. Ginger raced over to the water to catch another one. This time Ginger took one paw and dug her claws into the creatures body. Ginger tried to take the creature out of the water with the paw she had killed it with but she couldn't. Ginger used her other paw too this time to drag it out of the water but Ginger lost her balance on only her hind legs and fell head first into the stream.

Ginger shut her eyes, but water had already stung them.

Ginger pressed her ears against her head, but water had already leaked into them.

Ginger camped her jaws shut, but the water was already inside.

Her lungs were burning, screaming for air, so she dared to try and take a breath of air, but only water tore in.

Horror struck Ginger as she realized she was drowning.


	6. Death By Water

**Chapter 6**

Ginger tried with all her might to push to the surface, but the current was just too strong. It was carrying her faster and faster downstream. Ginger broke to the surface, finally, and toke one big gasp of air. But before Ginger could get anymore air, the current took her back under. Ginger struggled against the current, trying to grab hold of something, but the opaque water prevented her from seeing anything. She gave up and let the current take her wherever it pleased.

'_So this is how it is going to end, the tortoiseshell cat that was being carried by the current thought, without even finding her kin, figuring out about the mysterious message, or even finding the strange cats.'_

Hopelessness struck Ginger right in the heart. The water made her feel so sleepy... All Ginger wanted to do was sleep... She became even limper. A sudden image flashed in the tortoiseshell's mind and new hope filled her heart.

'_No!' _She told herself. _'I will not let myself die! At least not without a fight!'_

Energy surged through her weak, wet body. Ginger turned her whole body to the right and used her hind legs and front legs to paddle and push to propel herself toward, hopefully, the side of the stream. She felt soft earth beneath her front paws. The she-cat unsheathed her claws and dug them into the ground. Ginger held on for heartbeats that seemed to stretch out to moons. Her grip was getting weaker and weaker and the current seemed to get stronger and stronger, pulling her fur the wrong way. She didn't think she could hold on any longer, but then teeth meet her scruff and pulled her up out of the stream. Ginger looked to see Fern panting, heavily. They sat there for awhile, breath coming in large gasps.

Fern finally broke the silence by meowing, "What, did you want to go swimming like those silver creatures? You definitely can't swim in strong currents like this. So if I were you, I wouldn't try again."

Fern's eyes turned from angry to puzzled as he looked around.

"Where in all cats' names are we?" Fern meowed, sounding uncertain. Ginger herself had not looked around to see where they were. When she did look it was a completely different territory. There were no trees in sight and it was very windy. There was some heather growing here and there, but there was no sign of life. Ginger looked back at the forest to see that it was pretty far away. Exhaustion hit her so hard that she stumbled backward making her almost fall back into the stream.

Fern had obviously seen how tired she was and meowed, "Hey, why don't you rest over in that heather. It doesn't look too rough. I'm going to go scout around, but I won't be too long."

Ginger gave a nod of her head, and went over to the heather. The plant was oddly shaped to fit her body, as if another cat had slept there. Ginger could pick up another scent of a cat, but she was too tired to investigate. All she wanted was to be back in the hollow in the tree bark in the forest, asleep.

Before falling into the world of sleep, Ginger could just barely see the faint outlines of cats, coming toward her…


	7. Run or Fight?

**Chapter 7**

A roughly prodded paw woke Ginger from one of the most peaceful dreams she had ever had. She just grunted and turned her back to who she thought was Fern. The prodding stopped, instead viciously slashing her back. Fern was in a bad mood.

Rolling over to face Fern, Ginger meowed, "Was that really necessary, Fern? I mean, I was having a really ni-"

The words stopped there as she realized it wasn't Fern that had been poking her, but rather some menacing looking cats. One was a light golden tabby, while the other was brown. The dark silhouettes glared down at her, making a shiver run up Ginger's spine.

"This is our territory! You're not welcome here!" The brown cat growled.

It was a deep low growl that scared Ginger a lot. She tried to slip out of the bush, but the two cats blocked her way.

"No you don't," meowed the tabby, "We can't just let you leave. At least not without playing with us."

A slow, evil grin came over both of their faces and their claws slid out. Ginger tried to concentrate on getting out of there, but her thumping heart kept interrupting her thoughts. She tried backing out from the other side of the bush, but all around her brambles barred her way. The only thing Ginger could think of doing in this life-and-death situation was risky, but it was her only hope.

Ginger closed her eyes tight and ran as fast as she could toward the cats. She heard a yelp of surprise from one of the tomcats and felt fur and whiskers brushing past. Ginger was too scared to stop. She just kept on running blindly until one of her front paws fell into the stream.

Ginger jerked away from the cold water, still frightened from her last encounter. She turned around to see both of the tomcats a fox length away. Ginger darted to her right, racing down the stream. The tomcats were fast and caught up with Ginger. Soon they was a rabbit length away. She then saw the lone figure of Fern out of the corner of her eye. The tortoiseshell then realized she had gone in a circle running away and they were right by the heather! She then realized something; she was leading the cats straight towards Fern!

"Run! Run, Fern!" Ginger yowled but Fern just stayed rooted to the ground. Ginger slowed down and stopped to see them veering to their left over to Fern.

They both advanced on him. Fern gave one quick glance at Ginger, then turned to the toms.

"No Fern! Use your mouse- brained head! They are much bigger and stronger than us!" Ginger yowled back and at her yowl, it began to rain.

Fern turned around and lashed out with his back legs, surprising the cats. The two tomcats were sent backwards, but they collected themselves into a battle stance. It seemed a bit clumsy. Fern slid into something similar, but it looked much more practiced and refined. He was bending his back legs so he was almost sitting on them, so that he could prepare to spring quicker. A single paw was posed so it would be kind of held up, in case he had to bring it up in a hurry.

The brown cat leaped at him, and Ginger shut her eyes tight. A yowl of pain echoed out into the sky. The she-cat slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see a battered grey tom, barely clinging to life. But instead, she saw the brown tom collapsed on the ground, twitching. A flash of gold caught her attention. The tabby was coming straight for her! When he was just about on her, he turned around to meet Fern. The grey tom slashed his face, and the golden cat ran away howling.

Fern turned to Ginger, "Are you alri-" He didn't get to finish what he was saying because the brown tom had clamped his teeth on Fern's tail. In a blink, the grey chomped down on the neck of the poor creature. Frightened, Ginger dashed away. She didn't care, as long as she was away from Fe- that _thing!_

Ginger's thoughts froze and a pang of guilt pierced her heart when the rest of her mind caught up. _'Did I really just think Fern of as a thing?'_

The tortoiseshellwas jerked back to the world when a familiar vioce yowled, "Need any help?" Fern had caught up with Ginger in a flash and they were both running side by side with the rain pouring down even harder.

"Thanks, but I don't need saving," Ginger meowed back, bitterly.

Fern just ignored her comment and meowed, "We're losing them." Ginger glanced back to see that what Fern was talking about. The remaining tomcat had stopped and was sitting down, watching them leave with a terrified look on his face. But a few other cats were approaching him. Bigger, stronger cats. Ginger and Fern finally slowed their paces when they could no longer see the cats. Ginger stopped, out of breath. They both sat there in silence trying to get their air back. Dawn was breaking and Ginger had no more energy to even lift one paw. She collapsed on the stubble of grass and closed her eyes.

A paw nudged her and she heard Fern's voice meowing, "Hey, I know you are as exhausted as me, but we can't just sleep in the open. We have to find shelter."

Ginger knew that she had to get up. Her eyelids felt very heavy as she opened them. Ginger followed Fern sleepily as they made their way behind one of the very large hills. They found a skinny, withered tree with barely any leaves but it was enough shelter. Ginger and Fern curled up underneath it and shortly fell asleep.

**********************************************

Ginger woke to the sun shinning through the leaves of the tree, dappling her tortoiseshell pelt. Fern was not beside her and the only trace of him was the long indentation in the grass where he slept. Ginger got to her feet and stretched. She stepped out of the shade of the tree and found the sun was pleasantly warm. Ginger had slept in and it was already sunhigh. A bright blue sky with no clouds stretched over her head. It was a perfect day but something was wrong. She could just feel it.

_"Fern is probably out hunting."_ thought Ginger. So she just waited underneath the tree for him. Twenty minutes had passed and still no Fern. In that time the tortoiseshell had given herself a thorough bath. A strong breeze blew her way and Ginger could pick up a scent of blood.

Ginger followed Fern's scent trail. With every paw step she got more worried and more worried. His trail led back to the stream and he had crossed it. Ginger started to run and leaped over the stream. Fern's trail wandered on a bit and then went back over the stream.

_"He must have been following some prey."_ Ginger thought. Fern's trail was leading toward a forest but Ginger stopped abruptly when the scent of badgers was overpowering. She looked to her right to see them. Five huge black badgers with claws as long as rabbits, and teeth as sharp as snake fangs. The badgers were hovering over a limp figure of a cat. As Ginger got closer she saw that the cat was gray with some familiar features on it...

Ginger's heart stopped short when she realized that limp grey cat was a certain friend named Fern…


	8. A Lover For The Lost

**Chapter 8**

The world around Ginger stopped. Her amber eyes gazed down at Fern with increasing intensity. She had to do something! But what? The badger hadn't noticed her yet and was still lumbering around. Probably wondering what to do with Fern.

'_What if Fern was dead?'_ Ginger feared, _'How would I go on without him? Who would be my family or close to being a family member?' _She would be lonely again. This was the greatest thing that had happened to her and now some stupid badgers were going to take it away from her! Ginger pushed away these terrifying questions and looked at the scene that was happening now.

The badgers were still staring at Fern. Ginger needed a distraction and fast. She knew that cats were faster than badgers, but that was pretty much it.

'_I have to be the distraction!'_ Ginger thought. She then quickly devised a plan in her head. By the time she had finished, the oblivious badgers had somehow noticed her.

Two of them were already advancing at her and the other three were right behind. This was the moment she was waiting for! Ginger waited for the first of the badgers to get close enough. Then with one unsheathed claw, slashed the badger's muzzle.

The badger roared and Ginger bolted off at full speed. She ran towards the forest and hid in the bushes.

They didn't have a brain, so they resorted to simpler means. The badgers stomped through the bushes destroying everything in their path. They stomped past the bush Ginger was hiding in.

Ginger ran in the opposite direction, towards Fern and out of the undergrowth of the forest. She raced across the open moor and to the gray cat's side.

Fern still lay in the same spot the badgers had left him. There was a huge gash on the side of him where the badgers' claws had scored him. Blood was flowing like a river from the wound. Ginger needed something to stop the blood, but first she needed to know if Fern was still alive.

She crouched down beside his head and listened for any breathing. A shallow rasp came from him. Yes! He was alive!

"Fern!" Ginger meowed desperately. "Fern, everything i-i-is g-going t-to be a-a-alright."

Ginger herself doubted it, but she had to be strong. Her voice though sounded nervous, scared, and on top of that she stuttered. She didn't have much time. The badgers would most likely come back very soon.

Ginger pushed her head underneath Fern's body and pulled him up onto her back. She began to run in the direction of where she came from. After Ginger was clear out of sight, she heard a roar in the distance and knew that she had to get as far away as possible. It was getting harder and harder for Ginger to run. Fern was not as light as she thought! Ginger stopped behind the first hill underneath the tree where they had been sleeping. She set Fern down and looked at him in dismay.

She had unconditional love for him. "No. No! No Fern! You can't just leave me!" Ginger yowled and the tears came flowing.

"Fern! I love you! I need you!" The tears just kept coming faster and faster running down her face. Ginger buried her face in his fur. She began to clean out the long gash on his flank and started to lick his face.

"I love you Fern," She whispered. Ginger turned away so to not to see the sight of Fern.

"I knew that," meowed a very familiar voice.

It was Fern.

Ginger sprang over to him and saw his eyes open. She stared deeply into those glassy baby blue eyes.

Fern stared back and meowed, "I love you too."

Ginger cried tears of joy.

One thing was certain, she had never cried so hard.

* * *

The tortoiseshell cat looked up, silently pleading the small twoleg with big, round eyes. Amber eyes glistened with tears that threatened to fall. The begging pleading look upon the kitten's face just melted the heart.

"Please review," she mewed, and one delicate little tear escaped her golden orbs.


	9. Healing

Ginger needed cobwebs to stop the bleeding. She needed them fast before Fern lost too much blood. Fern was still lying underneath the tree staring into her eyes. Ginger had to think quickly.

"Fern don't die on me. I will be back." Ginger meowed this over her shoulder before she ran into the forest to find some cobwebs. Ginger just hoped that she wouldn't run into the badgers. Gingers eyes flashed around wildly, searching the forest for cobwebs. Hanging from a skinny tree was a big wad.

"That will have to do, I guess." Ginger muttered while walking over to the tree. Ginger wrapped as much of the cobweb around her front paw as she could and went sprinting off towards Fern. Once she had reached him, Ginger pressed the cobwebs onto Fern's biggest wound. The blood ceased to a drip of blood. Fern had gone unconscious again. Ginger pushed him farther underneath the tree when it begun to rain. It was warm and dry underneath and Ginger fell asleep easily.

Ginger's peaceful sleep was interrupted by many unpleasant dreams about Fern getting killed by badgers. For some reason it was Ginger's fault the Fern died and that made the nightmares even worse! Ginger woke up again at dawn and decided to just get up. Fern was sleeping so peacefully that she didn't want to wake him. As Ginger padded around half looking for some prey, her thoughts engulfed her. All that had happened went by in the blink of an eye. _My goal to find my kin has seemed to be put aside for now, _Ginger thought. How far she had made it seemed like an awesome accomplishment. Yet she still had not found her kin and that empty, lonely space inside her still remained. Fern filled up that space at times and she was happy. Ginger wanted to spend the rest of her life with Fern but also find her kin of find out what happened to her kin. Which was more important? That, Ginger didn't know and she definitely didn't want to make that decision. Not ever.

Ginger was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that she had walked past the forest. _I got to focus, _Ginger thought. _Fern will be waking up any moment now. _Ginger sprinted into the forest, obliviously not thinking. She skittered to a halt with a frazzled look on her face. _What is wrong with you Ginger?! _She asked herself. "I doubt there will be any prey now," She grumbled. But Ginger went farther into the forest where she had better luck. She caught three mice, a sparrow, and a squirrel. With her prey, she padded out of the forest and into the direction of Fern.

Fern hadn't moved from the position he was in when she left him. All Ginger had to do was stick the warm sparrow in front of his nose to awaken him. Fern looked up at her, grateful and began to devour the sparrow. He was done in three bites, so Ginger tossed him the three mice. Ginger kept the squirrel herself munching on it half heartedly. Finally, after a silence of Fern crunching ravenously in his mice, did Fern speak.

"Thanks Ginger, I was starving. How long have I been out?"

Ginger smiled at him and replied casually, "oh….I would say about a week."

"WHAT!" Fern jumped to in shock his feet but fell back down. Fern was trying to say something, but nothing came out.

"Oh Fern! Don't get your fur in a bunch. I was just kidding." Ginger rushed to say these words. A sigh of relief escaped Fern's mouth. "It's only been a day." Ginger said quietly.

"Alright. Let's get going then." Fern meowed, struggling to get to his feet.

"No way Fern. You have to wait until your cuts are completely healed."

"But-," Fern protested.

"No buts. Now you stay here like a good kitty and I will go look for somewhere we can stay at for awhile. We can't just sleep underneath a tree." With that said, Ginger padded off into the woods. Ginger felt happy and refreshed now that it was a new day. The sun had come out and there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky. The weather was perfect, warm with a light breeze. The birds were singing and chirping, like lovely background music. It was spring and everything was blooming. The grass was new and green and every so often lilies and daises would spring up. _It's so different, _thought Ginger, _compared to that desert like place where we fought those cats. _ This thought led to the memory of the "thing." _When Fern fights, he becomes a whole new cat. A vicious, evil-spirited, wicked, devious, bloodlust- No, that's not Fern. _ Ginger shook her head, attempting to get rid of these thoughts and skipped into the woods. But Ginger never got rid of them.

* * *

Ginger had been walking deeper and deeper into other forest for the last twenty minutes but still she hadn't found a little haven. Ginger had just about given up and was going to turn back, when she heard rushing water. Ginger perked up her ears a little more and ran off in the direction of the sound. A few seconds of dodging trees and Ginger burst out to a clearing. A little stream ran through the center. The current wasn't very strong, so Ginger had no problem walking up to it. Ginger saw her reflection and smiled. There were plenty of the delicious tasting silver creatures swimming in the stream. Ginger was tempted to catch one and eat it this very moment, but she restrained herself. The last thing she needed was a distraction. Ginger still needed to find a shelter of some sort.

She padded over to the left of the stream and went back into the forest. Ginger padded into the forest but didn't get too far. It seemed a storm had hit this part of the forest. Four tree thanks had fallen over and made a non-covered lean to. _Perfect! _Ginger thought. For the next ten minutes, Ginger collected broken off branches, grass, and sticks. She covered the tree stumps and trunks with this. Ginger left on opening so that they could get in. With renewed energy, she ran back to Fern.

* * *

When Ginger found Fern, he was giving himself a bath in the shade of the tree. "Hey Fern! I found this perfect spit for us!" She could barely hold in her excitement. "Come on, come on! Get up Fern!" Ginger skipped over to Fern to help him up but was stopped in her tracks.

"Back off," Fern hissed. "I can get up by myself." Fern's legs shook with the effort while he struggled to get to his feet. Finger hadn't taken offense from Fern's rude retorts. This was just usual Fern; grumpy, stubborn, annoyed, pr- well, I think you have the idea. On top of it all, the cuts didn't help. Ginger was impatiently bouncing from one paw to the other.

Ginger couldn't help but meow, "Come on Fern. Please, before I'm an elder."

Fern's eyes flashed with anger. "Jeez Ginger. You're like a little impatient kitten. This better be good." Fern limped over to her.

"Oh trust me Fern. It is." Ginger raced into the forest with Fern slowly coming behind. It took over an hour to get there. I mean they were moving slower than lumbering badgers! They had to go around all the obstacles for Fern could not jump them. Also, every few minutes they would have to stop because Fern had to catch his breath. Finally they arrived with Fern half-dead, refusing to lean against Ginger. He took a long drink from the stream and then plopped down in the lean-to shelter.

Fern was hungry and exhausted for Ginger could see that. He seemed overall pleased with the lean-to and that made Ginger very happy. "I'll go catch us some food." She meowed. It took Ginger only a couple of minutes to catch five silver fish. She was getting faster and faster at it. Also she didn't mind getting her paws wet. Ginger loved the water! She slapped down three creatures in front of Fern. Fern mumbled an audible "thanks." Ginger then began to devour her two delicious creatures. By the time she was finished, the stars were in the night sky and Fern was snoring. Ginger padded into the lean-to and curled up next to Fern's warm body. Curled up next to Fern, content, and sleeping underneath the stars, Ginger felt like she could do anything.


	10. Swimming and Sickness

**Disclaimer: I do not own the warriors' terms or other references from the book. My friend owns Fern :)**

**Chapter 10**

Ginger woke up to bright light streaming in through the lean to. Fern was still sound asleep next to her. She quietly got up and tiptoed out of the lean to. Ginger stretched and went over to the stream to get a drink. When she saw her reflection, she jumped back, screeching. Her fur was sticking out in all directions and her fur was no longer orange. It was a musty brown color and she had sticks and grass poking out from it. _How did I get this dirty? I am no longer a cat! _Well, to think of it, Ginger couldn't remember the last time she did clean herself. She decided to take a run through the forest before doing something no cat would be proud of.

Ginger loved early morning runs. It always made her feel refreshed and re-energized. She came back to the stream looking even dirtier. Ginger felt hot and sweaty underneath her pelt and was panting slightly. She made sure Fern was still asleep before doing this. Luckily, he was, so Ginger went over to the edge of the deepest part of the stream. She made herself step into the cold rushing water. It felt good, soaking into her fur. The water only went to her belly, it wasn't deep enough.

Ginger got out and walked at the edge of the stream, looking for a deep spot. Finally, she spotted one. A tree trunk had fallen over onto the stream making a bridge and also a dam. Leaves had piled up making a perfect dam. The water was clear and clean, for you could see to the bottom. Ginger had no fear of being swept away by the current for the pool had no current. _Ok here goes nothing. _She leaped into the water, causing a huge splash. Ginger had her eyes shut tight and was kicking her legs and paws out in a rhythmic motion. She opened her eyes to see herself swimming in a circle around the pool. Ginger gasped with delight. She loved the feeling of the water soaking into her fur and brushing her sides. The feeling of flying was in mind. Ginger hadn't gotten her head wet so she ducked underneath the surface. So this part wasn't so great, the water rushing into her ears tickled but she didn't mind it. Ginger pushed her head back up to the surface and swam away from the pool and into the shallow stream. She swam upstream till her paws touched the bottom and she could see the lean to.

Ginger easily caught two silver creatures swimming right towards her. She jumped out of the stream and headed to the lean to with her prey. Fern still hadn't moved. _What a lazy butt. _Ginger threw one creature over to where Fern sat and took the other one. After ginger was finished, she went over to Fern. His cuts weren't that big and could heal on their own. But there was one big wound in his back leg which caused the limp. Fern's leg was sticking out behind him in a funny way. Then ginger noticed that it was broken. The badger must have grabbed him by the leg and torn it.

For Fern's open cuts and scratches she and in mind one of these herbs; marigold, goldenrod, dried oak leaf, or dock. Then for his broken leg she needed comfrey and some cobwebs. Ginger glanced down at Fern who was breathing heavily in his sleep. She rested her paw on him. Ginger pulled it back in shock. Fern was very hot to the touch. He definitely had a fever. Then she needed feverfew and maybe chamomile. Ginger had no idea what kind of herbs that was in the forest. Before she left she dabbed water on his body to help his temperature. Then she sped off into the forest.

* * *

The forest surprisingly was plentiful in herbs. It had chervil, chickweed, dandelions, dock, horsetail, juniper berries, lavender, and…..ok let's just say there was plenty of herbs for the two of them. There were lots to choose from and Ginger carried back as much as she could. She brought back cobwebs, comfrey, and broom for the broken leg. Ginger brought back feverfew, lavender, poppy seeds, honey, and horsetail for the scratches, fever, and pain. She also got some rush to bind the leg.

When Ginger approached the lean to, she was overwhelmed by the smell of a sick cat. She found Fern lying on the ground for he must have rolled off the moss. He was letting out a terrible groaning noise. Ginger saw that he had tried to digest the silver creature she had caught but was back up in a pile next to his head.

"Oh no Fern. This isn't good." Ginger had a worried look on her face.

"Well that's obvious. Now can you do something to fix it?" Fern had mumbled this in his old grouchy way. He then let out another groan. Ginger than started to work. She took the horse tail and chewed it up into a poultice. Ginger then applied it to Fern's infected wounds. She still had a lot of it so she pushed it to the side. Fern would jerk ever so often when it stung. Then Ginger had Fern carefully sit up and eat some of the leaves of the feverfew.

"Wow. This tastes awful. What, are you giving me mouse-dung?" Fern meowed looking a little green.

"And that's why I brought you this." Ginger gave him the honey on a leaf. Fern licked it up quickly. Ginger then decided to use the comfrey. She took the large leaves and the small link bell-shaped flowers and pushed them to the side. The important part was fat black-colored roots. Ginger chewed them into a poultice and used it to treat Fern's broken leg. She took the extra poultice and dabbed it on fern's wounds. When ginger did these the grimace of pain on Fern's face slowly disappeared. She quickly bind his leg in rush.

Fern attempted to life his head but to no avail. "Thanks again." He mumbled and conked out into a peaceful sleep. Ginger quickly cleaned up the remains of the herbs and washed her paws in the stream. It was busy work to care for a sick cat, but in a way, she liked it. Ginger liked to heal Fern and perhaps other cats. She quickly caught super and ate it. Then, Ginger padded into the forest to find fresh moss.

* * *

After hours of searching the forest thoroughly, Ginger gave up. She wad only found a little wad of moss, but it will have to do. It was dark outside anyways and Ginger couldn't see much. She found her way back to the lean to and collapsed on the soft moss. It had been a long day and Ginger was exhausted. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She hoped that she wasn't coming down with a fever. Many worries were prompted and shot through Ginger's head.

_Who would take care of Fern? Who would take care of herself? Would she ever find her kin? What would happen if the badgers came looking for them? What would she do if they found them?! And if- _Ginger decided to stop all the "what ifs" and just go to sleep. It didn't take long.

* * *

You sit at your dinner table eating a delectable Thanksgiving dinner when you hear a little meow at your front door. You go to see who or what it is. You open the door to see a little gray kitten with big huge kitty eyes. Its so skinny that you can see its ribs and all its bones. It looks up at you, pleading. Your heart gives out to this little adorable kitten. You bring it some food from your enormous meal. It takes the food and eats it delicately. Once it is finished, it steps back and looks up at you with pleading eyes yet again. "What do you want this time?" You ask.

"Review." You think you heard it meow this. You shake your head and think I have had way too many pieces of pie.


	11. Time Flies

**Author's note:** Ginger and Fern do the same basically everyday for many months. It is still part of their adventure but not that much of an adventure! I thought it would be boring to talk about each day of this year that they spend in the forest. Here is the months that I have skipped. Enjoy! :)

**Chapter 11**

**APRIL**

** MAY **

** JUNE**

** JULY**

** AUGUST**

Ginger woke up early every morning and had routine. She would run through the forest for an hour, and then go swimming. Then Ginger would catch breakfast for Fern and herself. When she would come back to the lean to, Fern would be awake and ready to eat. Every day fern was improving until his sickness was completely gone. Half of his scratches were healed but his broken leg was still healing and some other deeper wounds. Ginger kept replenishing the herbs and found good fresh moss. She enjoyed staying in the forest with fern. It was fun and kept her busy from unwanted thoughts. Ginger liked her early morning runs through the forest. It opened her eyes and ears up to the many different sounds and sights. _Nature was beautiful, _Ginger had to admit.

Now the swims were a whole other story. Ginger loved the water! She felt a part of it now. Some days Ginger would swim against the currents. This would make her use her leg muscles and that is what caused her to have her wonderful idea.

It was the end of summer, and it sure was hot. Fern had to make many long trips to the stream to get water. Ginger would catch him limping painfully over to the stream and she would rush over to help. Then Ginger would receive an angry hiss of annoyance to "back off" or "to leave me alone." Many other times, Ginger would come back from an errand to find Fern lying exhausted by the stream. This saddened Ginger for she knew that he didn't have enough strength to get back to the lean to. Also it would probably take a very long time to regain it.

Fern's leg was getting better but he needed to exercise it. So, on this hot summer day Ginger decided to pluck up her courage, and tell Fern the idea. Fern was lying under the shade of a tree, trying to get cool. He was panting though and looked like he needed a refreshing dip in the pool. Ginger smiled (if that is possible for a cat to smile) and padded over to Fern.

"What do you want?" He asked grouching.

"Well………Fern. I have an idea. You have a leg that is sorta….healed right?"

"Yeah."

"And you need to exercise it, don't you?" Ginger was finding it difficult not to burst out and tell him her idea.

"What's your point because I don't see one?"

"You don't? What do you see?" teased Ginger.

"I see you wasting my time and annoying me like the little kitten you are." Fern was about to turn his back to her.

"Wait! I want you to swim against the current. It uses your back legs and it would really help. It also feels good in this hot weather." Ginger was leaning towards Fern in an excited way.

Fern was speechless. Finally he spit out the words, "Swim? Swim?! You want me to swim? Swim in ice cold water?!"

Ginger nodded her head and meowed. "I no isn't it a great idea?" _He loves it! _Ginger thought.

"Are you mouse-brained?!" Fern screeched. "Why in the world would I do that?!"

Ginger's shoulders sagged. Then she thought of something. "You know Fern," She meowed as he was about to turn around. "With lying around all day, you're going to lose muscle and gain fat if you don't exercise. At this Fern froze in his tracks and his eyes darted back and forth like he couldn't make up his mind.

Finally, Fern came to a decision. "Ok." He mumbled. "I'll do it tomorrow." Ginger leaped up into the air in triumph.

"Now leave me alone." Fern limped, surprisingly fast, to the lean to and vanished inside.

* * *

The next morning, Ginger woke up earlier than usual. She was elated at the fact that Fern had decided to try her idea. She went on her daily routine of running and swimming. Then Ginger decided to catch some delicious prey instead of the everyday fish. It took most of the morning but by early sunhigh, Ginger had caught a mole, sparrow, and two rare rabbits. Fern was awake, waiting, and hungry. He ate a rabbit and the mole. Ginger had eaten the other rabbit and gave Fern the sparrow. He would probably need it. After Fern was finished stuffing his face (literally) he seemed to be in a better mood.

"All right." Fern meowed. "Let's get this over with." This time, Fern let Ginger help him down to the pool.

"Ok show me what to do." Fern grumbled.

Ginger leaped into the water with a pause. Water splashed everywhere causing Fern to get a heavy shower. Ginger surfaced and looked up to see a wet Fern. Fern shook with dissatisfaction and gave Ginger a look of "what's wrong with you?!"

"It's easy! Come on Fern!" Ginger meowed trying to encourage him.

"Are you sure this is going to help?" Fern asked looking a little uncertain and scared.

"YES FERN! Now stop being a little coward and come on! The water feels nice." Ginger yelled this while paddling around in a circle. This made Fern mad. He obviously didn't want to look like a coward. He took a deep breath and jumped in. Waves were made and Ginger lost track of where she was. Finally when she had surfaced, she saw Fern's head slowly sinking underwater. Ginger swam over and sunk her teeth in the scruff of Fern's neck.

"Come on Fern." Ginger meowed through clenched teeth. "Swim. Use your legs as paddles. You can do it." Then Ginger felt a little strain in Fern's muscles. Suddenly the weight of Fern's body was taken away and and and and he was swimming!

"Hey this isn't that bad." Ginger heard Fern say. Ginger treaded water as she watched Fern swim circles around her.

"Ok Fern. Good job, now follow me." Ginger swam up the stream towards the lean to. She turned her head to see that Fern was successfully following. _This is good, _Ginger thought, _If we could do this every day then Fern will be as good as new sooner! And if that happens sooner than so does finding her kin!_ And that is what Fern and Ginger did.

Each morning, Ginger would do her "daily routine" and then take Fern swimming after breakfast. Fern was improving immensely and Ginger was pleased. Then on one winter morning, Fern got up and could walk again.

* * *

It's the Fourth of July and you are outside waiting for fireworks to appear. You are with your family and relatives and you are having a great time, until you hear a noise in the bushes behind you. Earlier that day, you had read an excellent story on . But like usual you read and don't review. After you read this story about cats you think nothing of it to close out and not review. That nothing will haunt you or get you. But oh yes something will.

You go over to the bushes to see what it is. You pull the leaves apart to reveal a purple scaly hand. Your mouth opens to scream but nothing comes out. The hand is limp and you have the urge to poke it. You lean down to get a closer look and you can't stop your hand from reaching down. But before you could touch it, the hand jerks and grabs you. Darkness envelops you. You hear a deep voice say, "Oh hello child. You are probably wondering why you are hear and what I am. You are here because today you innocently read a story on but you did not review. Is this right?"

You nod your head.

"Ah. I am a mystery. You shall never know what I am. But just remember that next time you don't review a story, don't expect yourself to be living the next day." You hear it laugh a bone shaking laugh. You then open your eyes to see the beautiful fireworks of the Fourth of July. You must have fallen asleep. Yet you jump up from a lawn chair and run inside to your computer to review that story.


End file.
